The Warsaw office of global law firm CMS, developed in cooperation with Trzop Architekci studio, has been awarded the prestigious Prime Property Prize 2023 in the Commercial Space category. The award wase presented on 18 September at the Property Forum 2023 gala event.
The award in the Commercial Space category is given to office, retail, service, hotel and catering spaces for unique design, innovative architectural and design solutions, original and functional equipment and modern technologies. Special consideration is given to interiors where the comfort of employees and customers is paramount.
The new office, into which CMS moved at the end of 2022, occupies an area of 7,000 square metres on five floors in the Varso Tower building. The design of the space was created in cooperation with Trzop Architekci studio, and the main assumption in its implementation was CMS’s values, the foundation of which is people and their needs.
The goal of the new office was to create a space that is as friendly and functional as possible, with many eco-friendly materials, energy-efficient solutions and greenery. In CMS’s office, care was taken to strengthen the organisational culture in the framework of the “cultureplace” concept, according to which numerous spaces dedicated to building relationships, working together and meetings were created. Spacious conference rooms, creative work rooms, cafeteria-style kitchen areas and libraries have been designed with great attention to detail.
The design inspiration for the Trzop Architekci studio was modernist Warsaw of the interwar period and its architecture. Modernism is evident in the CMS office both in the spatial elements and in the forms and materials used. It was also from modernism that the idea of creating an open space separated by glazing was taken, which in CMS’s office allows for changing perspectives and the perception of the office as an interpenetrating space.
A joint ambition of CMS and Trzop Architekci studio was for the office to achieve WELL certification, which assesses the quality of the working environment of a given office space. The CMS office is currently in the WELL certification process, and has also recently received BREEAM certification, which assesses office space for environmentally friendly solutions.
“The Prime Property Prize in the Commercial Space category is confirmation for us that the space we have created is not only about design and innovative solutions, but above all it is a place that brings people together. We are pursuing our “cultureplace” strategy, and that is why the office was designed with a focus on relationships, ensuring a sense of belonging and active participation in the life of the law firm. We are extremely pleased that the work we have put into this project has been recognised, as evidenced by this award. However, we would not be celebrating this success without the support of Trzop Architekci at every stage of the project. We would like to thank Bartosz Trzop and the entire team of his studio who worked on the creation of our office – Magdalena Antończyk, Michel Juraszyński, Marta Janiszek, Magda Woźniakowska, Alicja Zimniak, Karolina Konieczna, Kinga Gajewska and Małgorzata Szlązek,” says Beata Kępowicz, COO of CMS.
The Prime Property Prize competition is organised by the PTWP Group and the editors of the Property News and Property Design portals. The competition recognises companies and projects that have had the greatest impact on events in the commercial real estate market in the last year, as well as personalities whose outstanding actions have played a key role in the development of the entire industry. The awards are presented in 12 categories: Propertynews.pl’s Man of the Year, Developer of the Year, Investor Friendly City, Investment of the Year in the Retail Space Market, Investment of the Year in the Office Space Market, Investment of the Year in the Logistics and Warehouse Space Market, Investment of the Year in the Hotel Market, PRS Investment, Architecture, Advisor of the Year, Commercial Space and ESG Strategy.
